Thread-cleaning attachment for winding mechanism



J. BARNEY Dec. 29, 1936.

THREAD CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR WINDING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 25, 1936 Jerome 930mm ll INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES THREAD-CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR WINDING IWECHANISM Application August 25, 1936, Serial No. 97,743

Claims.

This invention relates to thread winding mechanism, and more particularly to a thread-cleaning attachment therefor adapted to remove from the winding thread all loose ends and waste 5 which may be found clinging thereto.

Raw silk is ordinarily furnished in hanks or skeins which must be wound in known manner on a spindle or bobbin for more convenient handling. It has been found in present day conditions that there is a considerable amount of loose waste lying in the thread, clinging thereto, or attached loosely to a single end, and this waste makes the throwing operation diificult and complex because it is extremely dificult to remove. Ordinarily impact or friction types of cleaners consisting of metal plates with narrow openings will hold waste only for a short time which varies from a few seconds to several hours, with no rule to predetermine it, and with ordinary inspection and attention of an operator, a great deal of waste will pass through the metal plate and be wound on the spindle, resulting in an inferior quality of wound thread to later cause trouble and defects in using. Felt has been used, alone, or in connection with the aforesaid metal cleaner, but waste will eventually pass through to the spindle. Double metal plates have been tried, as well as stationary brushes of varying kinds, but with uncertain and generally un- 30 satisfactory results.

The primary objects of my present improvements are to provide a cleaner that will adequately and positively remove all clinging ends, waste, and the like, with a minimum strain upon the main thread, will collect and hold the waste and prevent it from passing to the spindle with the running end, and will, in case a break does occur, hold the broken end of the main thread conveniently accessible for quickly retying to resume winding.

With the above objects outlined, and with others that will later herein appear, my invention comprises the improved thread-cleaning attachment now to be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing, and the novel features of which are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Fig. l is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of certain essential parts of a usual winding mechanism having a preferred embodiment of my improved thread-cleaning attachment applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view corresponding with the showing in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows separately, and on an enlarged scale, an end elevation of my cleaning attachment.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of the attachment as shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, the parts of a usual 5 winding mechanism shown as suliicient to fully describe my improved thread-cleaning attachment, are a thread supply reel 5, hung to freely turn in supporting arms 6; a frame beam 1 extending lengthwise of the machine; main drive shaft 8 having a drive wheel 9 frictionally engaging a wheel ill on shaft H which is adapted to carry a removable spindle or spool I2 to windingly receive the thread end; and a longitudinally reciprocated traverse rail l3 having a thread guide eye M tolay the winding thread equally lengthwise of the spindle. The frictionally driven spindle ii. winds the thread end l5 as drawn from the reel 5 in a manner well known and readily understood; and it will be understood that the complete winding machine consists of a series of reels and spindles, spaced lengthwise along the beam i and each individually driven by a corresponding series of drive wheels 9 for economical multiple operation as heretofore. Instead of the reel 5, the thread supply may be in the form of a spool or cop for rewinding operations.

The drawing discloses a preferred embodiment of my thread-cleaning attachment shown as having an angular frame conveniently mounted on beam iv by means of an angle bracket 20 secured to said beam and to the rear wall 2! of the frame, to position frame walls 22 and 23 in outwardly projecting spaced parallel relation, wall 22 having a slotted bearing 24 and wall 23 an alined bearing aperture 25 to mount a cleaning brush 26 intermediate the reel 5 and spindle l2 so as to lie in the path of travel of the thread end I5.

In the construction shown, I prefer to employ a separate frame and individual brush 26 for each spindle of the machine, and I have shown the frame walls 22 and 23 as overhanging a shaft 29 mounted lengthwise of the machine and driven in any convenient manner, not shown; said shaft having a series of rollers 30 spacedly positioned therealong, each roller frictionally rotating its respective brush 26 by engagement with roller 21 on said brush axle 28.

Thus far it will be understood that Wheels 9 will drive the spindles l2 to wind the thread ends i 5 as drawn from the reels 5; and that rollers 36 will engage rollers 2'! to rotate the brushes 65 a brush made of bristles extending in a spiral arrangernent lengthwise of the shaft 28 to thoroughly engage and clean the thread-end passing between said bristles; and I further prefer to drive or rotate said brush in a direction opposite to the travel of thread end I5 as giving better results in cleaning the thread-end of all clinging waste and the like,

and as best retaining and holding such waste from passing to the spindle by winding it on said brush where it will remain through long operation of the winding machine, and until cleaned therefrom during stopping intervals. In practice such brushes effectively remove and retain all such loose clinging material and hold the same from passing to the spindle while permitting desired speedy winding. of clean thread ends.

To provide against the main thread breaking by removal of such clinging or partly attached waste ends, or from other causes, and to prevent loss of the main thread by undesired and wasteful winding of the broken end on said cleaning brush, I have indicated a brush stopping device which may simply consist of the bell-crank lever 32, shown as'pivoted at 33 to frame wall 22 with one arm 34 lying under the extended end of brush axle 28, and its other arm 35 suitably weighted at 38 as shown, extending upwardly at an angle ,and

' carrying a feeler rod 31 overlying the brush and adapted to ride upon the passing thread-end I5. Breaking of the thread-end l5 causes the weighted arm 35 to swing said bell-crank 32 and cause arm '34 thereof to engage brush axle 2B and tilt the latter sufficiently to disengage contact of roller 21 with shaft roller 30, a stop pin 38 limiting such lever lifting swing. The broken thread-end is held on the brush where it may be conveniently reached to retie to the thread-end extending from the spindle for resumption of winding. The brush 26 is readily removed for cleaning by further tilting to lift axle 28 upwardly in slot 24; spindles I0 are removed and replaced as heretofore; and'the silk hanks are spread upon reels 5 in well-known manner.

From the foregoing description it is "believed the nature'of my improvements will be readily understood and also their effective action in cleaning the thread-end of all clinging matter, winding and holding such removed matter from escape to the winding spindle, and convenient holding of 'a broken thread-end for quickly retying to restore the winding operation. The invention .may obviously be applied to-winding mechanism employing different thread supplying means, which means may cause one or a plurality of threads to contact each cleaning brush, and the particular construction shown and above described may be modified within the spirit of my inven tion as specifically defined in the following claims.

What I claim is: 1. In combination with thread winding mechanism comprising thread supply means and a winding spindle, of a thread-cleaning attachment comprising a cleaning brush mounted to engage a winding thread intermediately between said supply and spindle, means to rotate said brush to remove and retain waste clinging to the winding thread, and means to stop rotation of said brush upon breaking of the thread.

2. In combinationwith thread winding mechanism comprising thread supply means and a winding spindle, of a thread-cleaning attachment comprising a frame carrying a rotary brush mounted to engage a winding thread intermediately between said supply and spindle, frictional means for rotating said brush to remove and retain waste clinging to the winding thread, and a stop motion for said brush to retain a broken thread-end thereon for convenient retying to the spindle thread.

3. In a thread-winding mechanism comprising thread-supplying means and a winding spindle,

an interposed thread-cleaning mechanism com-.

prising a fixed carrying frame, a rotary brush movably -mounted therein and having a bristle surface normally operative upon a passing thread, a friction drive shaft for said brush, and a stop lever normally supported by the passingthread but adapted to disengage the frictionally driven brush upon breakage of the thread.

4. In a thread-winding mechanism comprising thread-supplying means and a winding spindle, an interposed thread-cleaning mechanism comprising a fixed carrying frame, a. rotary brush mounted therein to normally operate upon a passing thread, a friction drive for said brush, and means for disengaging said driveupon breakage of the thread. a

5. In a thread-winding mechanism comprising a plurality of thread supply means each having a co-operating winding spindle, an interposed thread-cleaning mechanism comprisinga plurality of fixed carrying frames corresponding with the number of supply means and spindles, each frame having a bristle brush rotatably and tiltably mounted therein and positioned .to'engage its bristles with its respective winding thread to remove from the latter and retain all clinging waste ends, a driveshaft for said brushes having a plurality of rollers adapted to frictionally engage and rotate their respective brushes, and a plurality of stop levers for the respective brushes each having a. thread-feeler arm engaged by the winding thread and operative upon breaking of a thread to tilt its respective brush so as to dis engage the same from its respective drive roller so as to stop said brush and retain the broken thread-end thereon for convenient retying operation.

JEROME BARNEY. 

